CONWAY — Fayetteville is unbeaten against Arkansas opponents this season, winning all 23 of its matches and 67 of 68 games.
Today, the Lady Bulldogs are in line to win their first volleyball state title.
“I think we know we’re a strong team, but we don’t want to take anything for granted,” Fayetteville junior Hannah Pinter said. “We show up and treat each team like they are better than us. We have to prove ourselves each match we play.
“We’ve done a lot of mental preparation this year, and I think that’s been a huge part of our success.”
Standing in the Lady Bulldogs’ way is defending Class 7A champion Bentonville, which is the only team to have taken a game from Fayetteville this season.
Bentonville (31-7) and Fayetteville (34-1) play for the title at 5 p.m. at Conway High School’s Buzz Bolding Arena.
“It’s a game of momentum, and when it comes down to Fayetteville and Bentonville, anything can happen on any given day,” Bentonville Coach Michelle Smith said.
This will be the third meeting this season between the two 7A-West rivals. Fayetteville won the first meeting 25-15, 25-20, 25-21 on Sept. 22 and the second contest 25-18, 13-25, 25-20, 26-24 on Oct. 18.
Fayetteville is a junior-dominated team. Pinter compiled 25 kills in the Lady Bulldogs’ state tournament victorties over Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside earlier in the week. Junior Mikayla Avery had a combined sevenaces, and junior Tatum Marshall had a combined 42 assists. Junior Paige Gocke had 13 kills in each match.
Fayetteville’s one loss this season came to Washburn Rural High School of Topeka, Kan.
“You can’t get a run on them because they’re so strong they won’t let you,” Southside Coach Steve Haaser said Thursday after his team’s 3-0 loss to Fayetteville in the semfinals. “Their serving is great too ... and one of the most frustrating things about them is that they’ll all be back next year.”
Bentonville is 0-2 against Fayetteville but 22-0 against its other in-state opponents.
Senior outside hitter Shayne Wiedermann had a combined 31 kills in state-tournament victories over Rogers and Conway for Bentonville, which made the state final for the fourth time in five years.
“They’re a very talented team. We’re a very talented team,” Smith said. “We’ve both been here before. We’ve both met up numerous times. This is a tradition for us, especially in the finals.”State finals At Conway High School
SCHEDULE
4A Westside vs. Valley View, 11 a.m.
5A Greenwood vs. LR Christian, 1 p.m.
6A Mountain Home vs. Marion, 3 p.m.
7A Bentonville vs. Fayetteville, 5 p.m.
3A Harding Acad. vs. Mansfield, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 32 on 10/29/2011